घना सारा टैक्स यानि जी.एस.टी. बनाम चतुर बनिया (20/06/2017)

हम जी.एस.टी. के कठोर प्रावधानों का विरोध करते हैं!

जी.एस.टी. को नरम करो, व्यापारियों पर रहम करो!

जी.एस.टी. में दंड के कठोर प्रावधानों को वापस लो!

28% टैक्स नहीं चलेगा नहीं चलेगा!  

Take back the stringent provisions of GST.

Reconsider the penalty provisions in GST.

Relax the stringent provisions of GST and spare the traders.

28% tax will not do!

As the day for implementation of GST nears, the busy streets of Karol Bagh and Old Delhi has come to be flooded with bill-boards and placards from various trade associations appealing the government to reconsider the stringent provisions of GST, especially the penalty provisions and the slabs of taxation. The birth pang of a new tax regime has taken over the business community all over India, which seems to be writhing in pain. There is pal of gloom and uncertainty in air. Delhi is always quick to press the panic button and introduction of GST from 1^st July is just another such case. Traders are not sure of their gains or loss under GST. As a result, the season for discount sale has arrived much in advance to the delight of Delhiites. In Haryana, traders call it the ‘Ghana Saara Tax’ (Too many Taxes), though GST aims to reduce the number of taxes. The chatur bania (Clever Trader) has been completely foxed by another chatur bania. Till now this chatur bania was always successful in finding a loop-hole in the taxation system of the government. In the GST regime where every transaction is aimed to be recorded and any gap down the chain is likely to be traced out with provisions for strict penalty, the traders and business community, especially the small and medium traders are in a fix. This has irked the business community. It is akin to the bio-metric system of attendance that irked the lazy babus. But implementation of GST and online cross checks of all business transaction will certainly help the Government increase its tax revenue. I hope this additional tax revenue on account of GST will benefit the common masses including farmers who have been committing suicide due to a lopsided government policy that does not come to their rescue either in years of bumper crops or in period of droughts.

Whenever such a step is taken by Government of the day, people tend to deflect the discussion by reminding the Government of its unfulfilled promises- viz the failure of the Government to unearth black money despite demonetization or its failure to purge the political system of black money, muscle power and criminals. The government needs to review and cut wasteful expenditures. The Government must realize that one can’t have a prosperous economy if it keeps overspending by raising taxes and over regulating (Arthur Laffer).

I hope the government will certainly not disappoint the common masses on these fronts in the remaining two years before seeking their support for the next five years.

GOOD GOLDEN OLD AGED DAYS (03/06/2017)

The agility of old people often leave me amazed. As I parked my scooty, I saw four old aged people at the counter waiting for it to open. It was already 7.30 a.m. The counter opened at 7.45 a.m. but these old people had no complain. Even they know the counter never opens sharp at 7.30 a.m. but still they queue up well ahead of scheduled time. Their positiveness that someday the counter would open on right time is simply infectious. This CGHS dispensary is housed in four Type II residential quarters of the Income Tax Residential complex- two on the ground floor and two on the first floor above. Two rooms in each of these allotted quarters make for sufficient space. The CGHS dispensary has four medical practitioners on roll including the CMO, yet during the last four years that I have been visiting this place, at least once a month, I have never come across all four of them at any given point of time. Is it a mere coincidence, I leave for the readers to decide. These senior citizens do not complain about absence of doctors during working hours. Though there are four rooms on the ground floor, yet doctors prefer to sit in rooms on the first floor, much to the discomfiture of majority of patients who are mostly old aged citizen. I simply have no words for the insensitivity of the authorities. Why can’t doctors sit in rooms on ground floor which will certainly provide some relief to most of these old aged people who invariably suffer from arthritis? The CMO a young lady sits on the ground floor but does not attend to patients. I salute the resoluteness of these senior citizens who do not mind undergoing all such difficulties without complaining. On the contrary they remain cheerful even at this advanced age. This certainly inspires me. But shouldn’t these senior citizens raise their voice against such issues which might appear minuscule to us but is certainly of importance for people of their age?